Appeal Letter help

Paying for College
1

<p>Can someone read my appeal letter and tell me if it is good? </p>

<p>To whom it may concern</p>

<pre><code>My name is XXX and I am writing to appeal my financial aid suspension. I had often been told the difficulties of transferring from a semester school to a quarter school, but I did not realize the magnitude of their words until Winter quarter. In both my Winter and Spring quarters, instead of taking the amount of classes I could handle, I took the maximum units offered without regarding the amount of work each class gives or their difficulty. As a result, I fell behind and my grades suffered because of it. Along with worrying about my school work, the company my father works for was continuing to downsize and my father's department was one of the divisions of the company that was terminated. As a result, he had to look for another job in the company and receive a lower pay. During this time I was also going through personal issues with grieving the loss of two family members, psychological issues, and issues with my parents wanting me to graduate as fast as possible. I know what I failed to do and I plan on making up for it.

Now realizing how much more difficult many of the upper division classes are, these are the steps I plan on taking to raise my GPA:
⁃ I will keep in contact with my professors and attend their office house whenever I need help or have a question
⁃ I will be taking advantage of the tutoring service offered on campus, including (insert name of service here) since it provides tutoring designed specifically for my major
⁃ I will be working more on my time management skills by keeping a calendar and agenda of due dates, professors office hours, etc.
⁃ I will meet with my academic advisor for any other assistance needed

I love (insert school) and I want to continue to attend and graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in (insert major). I will be retaking the classes I did poorly on in the Winter quarter and work harder to improve my grade and overall GPA. And, after talking with my parents about my psychological issues, I have felt much better. But, we have agreed that if I begin to feel that way again, I will receive help. I will provide any documentation that is needed.
</code></pre>

<p>Thank you</p>

2

<p>I am not sure what your school’s SAP appeal policy is - but sometimes schools require additional proof of the circumstances you describe. Did you meet with a counselor/therapist for your psychological issues? If so, you would want to include a statement from the counselor describing your progress. Also, your school may want to see a death certificate for the family member that passed away. My school requires some sort of 3rd party documentation to further support the appeal. </p>

3

<p>The paper says:
For your appeal to be reviewed, you must provide the following:

  1. Please attach a letter explaining why you did not meet the satisfactory academic standards. This should include the steps you have taken to improve your future academic performance.
  2. Please attach an academic plan from your advisor outlining your plans for improvement.</p>
4

<p>Got it. I don’t think it would hurt if you had additional documentation - as this would make your appeal stronger. If you don’t have anything else though, it looks like the school isn’t requiring it. Have you met with your advisor already? </p>

<p>Also, your appeal gets to the point - which is good. Some students go on and on, but you describe what happened and then you have a game plan to raise your GPA. </p>

5

<p>I plan on meeting with my advisor today, before I turn this in. Also, as for what you had asked earlier, I haven’t seen a counselor because I seem to be feeling better after finally talking with my parents about what I was going through. You know, that whole bottling it up makes it worse type of thing. I decided that if I feel that way again then I will see one of the school counselors</p>

6

<p>You might want to add that bit in to your section about how you will progress in the future. At least they will see you are aware that your campus has counseling services. </p>

7

<p>So should I put:
But, we have agreed that if I begin to feel that way again, I will make an appointment with Student Health and Counseling to receive help</p>

8

<p>That sounds fine to me. </p>

9

<p>Alright. Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it</p>